Spotlight: The most challenging flagship infra project for Sheinbaum

The 16.6 billion-peso (US$850 million) interoceanic corridor is likely to represent a bigger challenge for Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, to be sworn in October 1, than other flagship infrastructure projects started by the President Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration.

Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec (FIT), a company owned by the navy ministry (Semar), is responsible for the interoceanic corridor, which has grappled with cost overruns and lack of transparency.

Daily Reforma reported last month that preparation of the parallel rail lines will only finish in December 2025 and that the current capex is expected to double.

But construction also ran into technical challenges due to the route’s topography, with steep slopes and curves across mountainous terrain that presented natural obstacles limiting the operation of trains and the capacity to transport freight.

According to Mexico’s construction chamber (CMIC), the installation of the 10 industrial hubs that are part of the project is a big challenge in itself, as it will require trained staff in localities with lower formal education levels, steady energy supply and infrastructure links with the highway network – which is deteriorated.

CMIC also said that only one in three highways in the country is in good condition.

Yet, CMIC head Luis Méndez Jaled told BNamericas previously that the development hubs that are part of the corridor could turn the overall project into a success. The corridor not only requires rails, but also roads. And even though it is complex, Sheinbaum could see results if she can solve the problems.

Additionally, local media reported on irregularities related to the referendums that endorsed construction.

Daily El Universal reported that signatures were falsified and the names of deceased residents appeared in the referendum documents. The polls in 2021 asked if locals were willing to sell their land to the State and allow construction of industrial hubs near their communities.

Still, the corridor and its development hubs are seen as highly promising infrastructure projects. 

“Everyone will have to adapt: the users, communities, the parties interested in businesses, and they will all push [the project] to grow,” Roberto Hernández, a lawyer and expert in international construction law, told BNamericas. “Maybe by force, but it’s a great project. Of all [flagship projects], I believe that’s the one” that will be successful, he added.

While Sheinbaum has expressed her will to boost the interoceanic corridor, as well as other projects like the Maya train and building 3,500km of railroads, she has not published a comprehensive plan to tackle the problems. 

The interoceanic corridor includes a logistics platform centered on rail lines to connect Coatzacoalcos port in Veracruz state and Salina Cruz port in Oaxaca.

The 10 industrial parks are focused on the electric, electronic, automotive, auto parts, transportation, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries.  

Works started in 2019 under Semar's supervision. Last December, López Obrador partially inaugurated the project, with one of the three parallel lines starting passenger transport.

The project, like other major ones, is expected to require subsidies during the first years of operation.